The William J. Underwood School was one of four elementary schools serving students in Newport between kindergarten and fourth grade, but it is closed in June 2013. 195 children attend William J. Underwood School and identify primarily as Black, non-Hispanic; White, non-Hispanic; and Multiracial. According to the data of 2012-2013, White students took 71% (state average: 63%), Hispanic students took 16% (state average: 22%), Native American took 7% (state average: 1%), 7% of students are multiracial (state average: 3%), 4% of students are African-American (state average: 8%), 1% is Asian-American (state average: 3%).(Rhode Island Department of Ed, 2013) Its principal was Kimberly Behan. William J. Underwood Elementary School met Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in 2009. In this passage, I will collect data of this school and analyze them to see the development of it and the effect of educational reforms on it.
Student Achievement on Math in Third Grade
In 2011-2012 and 2012-2013, 68% and 79% of students met the state standards. Compared with the state average level which are 60% both years, Underwood students scored better in math test. Looking back to 2005-2006 and 2006-2007, 86% and 47% students met the standards, from which we can see that the score of students in these two year dropped a lot and the average of these two year are lower than 2011-2012 and 2012-2013. (Rhode Island Department of Ed, 2013)
Useful information about Students
With the unchanged attendance rate of 95%, from 2005 to 2013, the stability and mobility index changed from 61% (Average RI elementary school: 85%) and 39%(Average RI elementary school:18%) to 77% (Statewide: 87%) and 25% (Statewide: 14%), thus this school's population of citizens was becoming more and more stable, but compared with average level, is still a little more mobile. In 2005-2006, 35% students are eligible for subsidized lunch, while, in 2012-2013, it changed to 39%. (Rhode Island Department of Ed, 2006 & 2013)
Conclusion
According the the data above, from 2005 to 2013, Underwood school really did better gradually. It kept a high rate of attendance and made the population of citizens more stable. Although the rate of poor students became a little higher, the academic performance of this school became much better.
Have current reform efforts such as NCLB and RTTT affected RI schools?
It's hard to say if NCLB created a good efficiency on this school because the rate of students who met the state standards in assessment kept varying a lot after NCLB started at the beginning of 21st century until 2011. In the recent years, the pattern or the rate of students who met the state standards kept much more even and higher than before, so I think maybe this phenomenon is related to RTTT. However, I cannot say for sure that RTTT made schools improve a lot because the result of assessment depends a lot on the standards of the test.
William J. Underwood School
Brief Introduction:
The William J. Underwood School was one of four elementary schools serving students in Newport between kindergarten and fourth grade, but it is closed in June 2013. 195 children attend William J. Underwood School and identify primarily as Black, non-Hispanic; White, non-Hispanic; and Multiracial. According to the data of 2012-2013, White students took 71% (state average: 63%), Hispanic students took 16% (state average: 22%), Native American took 7% (state average: 1%), 7% of students are multiracial (state average: 3%), 4% of students are African-American (state average: 8%), 1% is Asian-American (state average: 3%).(Rhode Island Department of Ed, 2013) Its principal was Kimberly Behan. William J. Underwood Elementary School met Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in 2009. In this passage, I will collect data of this school and analyze them to see the development of it and the effect of educational reforms on it.
Student Achievement on Math in Third Grade
In 2011-2012 and 2012-2013, 68% and 79% of students met the state standards. Compared with the state average level which are 60% both years, Underwood students scored better in math test. Looking back to 2005-2006 and 2006-2007, 86% and 47% students met the standards, from which we can see that the score of students in these two year dropped a lot and the average of these two year are lower than 2011-2012 and 2012-2013. (Rhode Island Department of Ed, 2013)
With the unchanged attendance rate of 95%, from 2005 to 2013, the stability and mobility index changed from 61% (Average RI elementary school: 85%) and 39%(Average RI elementary school:18%) to 77% (Statewide: 87%) and 25% (Statewide: 14%), thus this school's population of citizens was becoming more and more stable, but compared with average level, is still a little more mobile. In 2005-2006, 35% students are eligible for subsidized lunch, while, in 2012-2013, it changed to 39%. (Rhode Island Department of Ed, 2006 & 2013)
- Conclusion
According the the data above, from 2005 to 2013, Underwood school really did better gradually. It kept a high rate of attendance and made the population of citizens more stable. Although the rate of poor students became a little higher, the academic performance of this school became much better.Have current reform efforts such as NCLB and RTTT affected RI schools?
It's hard to say if NCLB created a good efficiency on this school because the rate of students who met the state standards in assessment kept varying a lot after NCLB started at the beginning of 21st century until 2011. In the recent years, the pattern or the rate of students who met the state standards kept much more even and higher than before, so I think maybe this phenomenon is related to RTTT. However, I cannot say for sure that RTTT made schools improve a lot because the result of assessment depends a lot on the standards of the test.
1. William J. Underwood School - School and District data - RIDE InfoWorks. (n.d.). Retrieved July 23, 2014, from http://infoworks.ride.ri.gov/school/william-j-underwood-schoolReference list:
2. Information Works! 2009 : School Reports. (n.d.). Retrieved July 23, 2014, from http://infoworks.ride.uri.edu/2009/queries/FindSch.asp
3. William J. Underwood Elementary School — Newport Patch — Patch.com. (n.d.). Retrieved July 23, 2014, from http://newport.patch.com/listings/william-j-underwood-elementary-school
4. Schools for sale - NewportRI.com l News and information for Newport, Rhode Island: Page One. (n.d.). Retrieved July 23, 2014, from http://www.newportri.com/newportdailynews/news/page_one/schools-for-sale/article_8a06489a-500e-59b6-a758-1108ddb233c6.html